Modica, in the province of Ragusa, is about 40km from Marzamemi. The city is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites thanks to its historic city centre which is rich with baroque architecture. Like many of the historic city centres of the Val di Noto, Modica presents a particular urban configuration in which human needs … Continue reading
Cava Ispica, about 35km from Marzamemi is a fluvial valley of about 13km which connects the cities of Modica and Ispica. The valley is characterized by typical Mediterranean scrub. Holm oak, carob trees, dwarf palms and olive trees are the main plant species. While wild rabbit, foxes, hedgehogs and wood pigeons are the principal animal … Continue reading
Situated in the province of Syracuse, about 80km from Marzamemi, Pantalica is one of Sicily’s most important naturalistic-archaeological sites. The site is on located on a plateau surrounded by a canyon formed by the Anapo and Calcinara Rivers. The area is famous for the presence of Sicilian and brown trout. There is magnificent oriental Plane … Continue reading
It is located about 50km from Marzamemi and with its millennia of history makes it one of the Italian cities of greatest cultural-historical interest. It was the birthplace of artists, philosophers and men of science such as Archimedes and Plato. Under the Greek domination Syracuse became one of the vastest metropolises of the Classical Age. … Continue reading
Noto, 20km away from Marzamemi, is defined as the Capital of Baroque and it too is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The original site of Noto Antica rises 8km away from the current city and there can be found the first settlements that date back to the Bronze Age. During the Roman period Noto, known … Continue reading
Portopalo is a small town located about 10km from Marzamemi. It was founded in the last three decades of the 18th century by Don Gaetano Deodato Moncada who, at his own expense, commissioned the building of about a hundred homes within the existing tonnara. Portopalo is Sicily’s most southern local council and is mainly an … Continue reading
Marzamemi’s Tonnara (tuna catching area) is one of the most important such facilities in Sicily. It was built during the domination of the Arabs and in the first half of the 15th century was sold to the Prince of Villadorata, who strengthened the buildings by bringing in master carpenters from nearby Avola and Syracuse. In … Continue reading
Located between Noto and Marzamemi, the Vendicari Natural Reserve is a place of natural and historical interest. It has been inhabited since the Greek era as the tanks/deposits for working fish and the various catacombs and habitations from the Byzantine period testify. The area of the Vendicari Reserve was a place of strategic importance for … Continue reading